Unauthorized and/or inadvertent incursions of ground vehicles and aircraft onto runways and other restricted airport areas can often have serious safety and financial results. The number of aircraft accidents, which occur on the ground is far greater than the number of accidents that occur during flight. Considering the number of occupants of a modern commercial airline, this is a serious public safety concern.
When an aircraft is issued instructions to circle the airport during a landing approach because of a runway incursion incident, there are financial implications for the airport and the airline. The plane, which was told to circle the airport, must be placed back into a landing pattern, causing delays and increasing fuel consumption. Both of these effects present a serious financial burden to airlines and airports, which run on tight schedules and have an increasing interest in maintaining low operating costs.
There are several types of incursion detection systems, such as the Airport Movement Areas Safety System (AMASS), Airport Surface Detection Equipment (ASDE), and the next generation (ASDE-X), to monitor runways and taxiways. These systems alert the air traffic controllers, who must then analyze the situation and determine a course of action. The instructions are then only sent to the aircraft, often informing them to continue circling, which is expensive and frustrating for passengers. Moreover, these systems are usually designed to detect and monitor the movement of aircraft, which are themselves large and more easily distinguished than ground traffic vehicles, which also traverse airfield taxiways, runways, and critical safety areas.
In a modern, large airport, and especially hub airports, there are generally a large number of ground support vehicles. There exists a need, therefore, for a low-cost runway incursion alerting system, which can be installed in or on ground support vehicles to provide a warning to the driver of protected zones and potentially dangerous situations. Additionally, the alerting system must be easy to use and understand by a wide range of personnel.
Such a system would also be useful in other restricted areas where a collision might occur between two vehicles, such as in a construction site, military training area, emergency response vehicles on public and/or private streets, or the like.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of alerting the drivers of traffic vehicles that they are approaching restricted area. In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of alerting the pilots or mechanic of aircraft while taxiing or towing the aircraft that they are approaching an active runway or an otherwise restricted airport area.